Author: Todd Wallinger
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Free screening tonight of local filmmaker’s border security film
Some people change careers out of necessity. Others to fulfill a dream. For Colorado Springs filmmaker Surya Iacono, whose documentary “Green Cards for Al Qaeda” will premiere locally this month, the journey from flight attendant to film director was a means to an end. “I didn’t set out to be a filmmaker,” Iacono said. “I…
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REVIEW: Revamped ‘Les Miz’ features soaring vocals, confusing story
Grade: B- It’s billed as an all-new production, a revamping of the beloved Boublil-Schoenberg musical that first took the world by storm in 1985 and, in its 25th anniversary tour, is still going strong. The show, of course, is Les Miserables. Based on the 1862 Victor Hugo novel, it tells the story of Jean Valjean, a poor but kindhearted…
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‘First Grader’ gets an A for originality
A troubled student rebels against authority. A dedicated teacher risks her career to break through that student’s defenses. Yet another Hollywood retread? Not when the story is set in modern-day Kenya, and the student is an 84 year old first grader. The UK film “The First Grader,” which opens at Kimball’s today, tells the real-life…
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Haggard to appear in abstinence-touting sex comedy
See THE TRAILER. When you hear the word “Christian,” the last words you expect to hear next are “sex comedy.” But with “The Waiting Game,” a pro-abstinence movie (featuring a cameo by former New Life Church pastor Ted Haggard) being developed in Colorado Springs, two local men are determined to boldly go where no…
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Haggard to appear in pro-abstinence sex comedy
When you hear the word “Christian,” the last words you expect to hear next are “sex comedy.” But with “The Waiting Game,” a pro-abstinence movie (featuring a cameo by former New Life Church pastor Ted Haggard) being developed in Colorado Springs, two local men are determined to boldly go where no filmmaker has gone before.…
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VIDEO OF THE WEEK: ‘The Office’ Documentary Team
Explicit language advisory! In honor of the season finale of my favorite TV show, I offer you this peek behind the goings-on at “The Office”. Turns out the guys who’ve been making this “documentary” are just as funny as the people in front of the camera. In this tongue-in-cheek tribute to the show from Sidecar…
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Hollywood producer named state film commissioner
If there have been any doubts that Governor John Hickenlooper is serious about boosting film production in this state, those doubts should be dispelled with his appointment of Hollywood producer Donald Zuckerman as director of the Colorado Office of Film, Television and Media. Zuckerman’s most recent films include the 2008 Toby Keith vehicle Beer for my Horses and…
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Video of the week: ‘The Black Hole’
This week’s film is directed by the UK team of Phil Sansom and Olly Williams, who collectively credit their efforts to Diamond Dogs, names after the 1974 David Bowie concept album. In this wordless but very cool 2-minute short, a late-night office worker discovers a black hole. Read more… Photo by ‘The Black Hole’
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Video of the Week: ‘Cheyenne Mountain Highway’ (1936)
Ever wonder what the Cheyenne Mountain Highway was like before it was closed in the 1970′s? Check out this historical film showing a trip up the road, produced by none other than Spencer Penrose. In 1936, the noted businessman and philanthropist produced a documentary about the many attractions in the Colorado Springs area, most of…
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Video of the week: A brief history of conspicuous product placement
Product placements in films. We all hate them. But there’s no denying we’re affected by them. In what is probably the most famous product placement in movie history, Hershey paid $1,000,000 to have Reeses’s Pieces appear as Elliott’s candy of choice in E.T., with the Pennsylvania manufacturer making more than that back with tripled sales…